'Sweet Valley High' Author Francine Pascal Dies

"Sweet Valley High" book series author Francine Pascal, 92, who captivated girls across the world by weaving stories of teen romance, friendship, and sibling rivalry between fictional twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, died Sunday of lymphoma in New York, according to reports.

The acclaimed author set her books in the fictional Los Angeles suburb of Sweet Valley. The first was published in 1983 and was such a hit that 180 more were published over the next 20 years, with several spin-offs, including "Sweet Valley Twins" and "Sweet Valley University," BBC reported. 

Hundreds of millions of copies were sold in 27 different languages. The books also spawned an accompanying TV series, starring real-life twins Cynthia and Brittany Daniel. The show ran for four seasons from 1994-97.

According to BBC, Pascal had originally planned to sell "Sweet Valley" as a daytime drama about teenagers. However, a friend suggested that a book series would be a better way to develop the fictional town of Sweet Valley, California. Pascal enlisted the help of her three daughters for story ideas and themes while also drawing from her own childhood experiences.

Pascal came up with the idea of Jessica and Elizabeth because she "always had a fascination with twins. The trick is to think of Elizabeth and Jessica as the good and bad sides of one person."

Pascal first began exploring a career in writing in the 1960s when she co-wrote for the soap opera "The Young Marrieds" with her husband, John Pascal. Before creating the "Sweet Valley" series, she authored several young adult novels, including "Hangin' Out with Cici," "My First Love and Other Disasters," and "The Hand-Me-Down-Kid." She also wrote adult novels such as "Save Johanna!" in 1981 and "If Wishes Were Horses" in 1994.

In 2022, a graphic novel called "Sweet Valley Twins" was published.

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